K-LOVE Radio Features – April 2011

Orphans Sleeping

Do you have trouble enjoying the present? Is it because you’re afraid of the future?

After World War II, millions of orphans throughout Europe were gathered into camps to be housed and fed. Though their physical needs were met, the orphans still couldn’t sleep.

Finally, the solution came. Every night, when the children went to bed, a small piece of bread was placed in their hands. So, whenever they woke in the night, they’d know they’d have food the next day. Soon the children were sleeping great. Their past experience had taught them there was no hope for tomorrow. But that was far from the truth.

What worry keeps you from resting? God’s promised us a future and a hope if we will trust Him (Jeremiah 29:11). Throughout your day, hold on to the bread of life, God’s Word. You’ll find the rest you’re looking for.

Impossible Helicopters

Are you facing the impossible? When Igor Sikorsky was 12 years old, his parents told him experts had proven human flight was impossible.

Years later, after Igor had invented the helicopter, he put this sign in his assembly plant: “According to recognized aero technical tests, the bumblebee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of his body in relation to the total wing area. The bumblebee, however, doesn’t know this; so he goes ahead and flies anyway.”

Faith LAUGHS at the IMPOSSIBLE! If we look at the storms of life, it’s hard to visualize our dreams taking flight. But if we look to Jesus, we’ll be able to rise above any obstacle. GOD’S LIMITLESS WORD, The Bible; is FILLED with ENDLESS PROMISES AND POSSIBILITIES! Trust Jesus, for your “TODAY” AND for your FUTURE and GET READY TO FLY…

Flying By Instruments

Are you facing a big decision. Don’t be afraid! God will help you!

In my 18 years of globetrotting around the world, I flew in many small private planes, and was able to talk with the pilots about their training. One of the first things pilots are taught is to read their gauges and TRUST THEIR INSTRUMENTS, MORE THAN THEIR FEELINGS OR SENSES. I’ve been flying in thick clouds and dense fog…where we couldn’t see a thing. At those moments of flying blind, I’m glad the pilots trusted their instruments.

Unless you and I TRUST the FLAWLESS INSTRUMENT of God’s Word, we’ll MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON OUR SENSES. Don’t come to eternal conclusions based on WHAT YOU CAN SEE… TRUST WHAT GOD SEES. It’s the only way you will ever be COMPLETELY SAFE.

The Value of Enemies

Do you know your enemy? He knows you! I’m not talking about humans…they’re not our enemies! I’m talking in the spirit realm.

Your enemy doesn’t have to beat you…he only has to bluff you. He’s not looking for a fight…he’s looking for a flaw. Don’t feel bad because you have an enemy! Without enemies, we don’t have a future, because we’re only rewarded for the enemy we conquer.

Without Goliath we would never have heard of David. Every time we delay a battle, we POSTPONE A PROMOTION. An enemy can do for us in one day, what our friends could not do for us in a lifetime. So…how do we impress a God who’s seen everything? Show him something that He doesn’t see that often. Trust Him alone, and don’t give in to fear.

Focusing On Mistakes

Are you still focusing on your mistakes? What a waste of time!

Sure, it’s good to learn from them, but DWELLING ON THEM IS POINTLESS. Learn to LOOK PAST YOUR SETBACKS and you’ll discover the PURPOSE IN YOUR PAIN. If you’re FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU’VE DONE WRONG, YOU’RE STILL LIVING IN THE PAST. No good can come from WATERING LAST YEAR’S CROP. An ancient philosopher once wrote, ‘Waste not FRESH TEARS over OLD GRIEFS.’

Water your future with faith! Believe that God can redeem every mistake… every disappointment…every hurt. Don’t let your PAST PAIN DEFINE YOU! Let God’s eternal purpose for your pain INSPIRE YOU! Ask Him to reveal the TRUE VALUE OF ALL YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH. Even Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)

Gift of Pain

Are you RESISTING the GIFT OF PAIN? That’s right…the GIFT of PAIN! Why do we second-guess the PERFECT PLANS of an ALL-WISE CREATOR? Many times, it’s our shallow understanding that causes us to miss the POINT and PURPOSE of our challenges. All that happens then is we NEEDLESSLY REPEAT the LEARNING PROCESS that was TAILOR-MADE JUST FOR US. Why experience the SAME PAIN TWICE? EMBRACE the VALUE of your pain the first time!

Sometimes I NAIVELY PRAY, “Lord, if I just didn’t have so much pain, my life would be great.” But looking back over my life, it’s been MY PAIN that’s KEPT ME HUMBLE. It’s MY PAIN that’s INCREASED MY DEPENDENCY on God. I THANK GOD for the PAIN THAT KEPT ME from DESTROYING my life. Pain protects us when we choose to embrace it as a gift!

Malcolm Muggeridge and Suffering

What teaches us the most in life?

Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous British journalist and author, wrote near the end of his life, “Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.” (Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade, July, 1990)”

What a revealing statement! Our difficulties not only work for my good, if I love God and am committed to do His will, they’ll help shape me into the person I was meant to be. As painful as your suffering might be at this very moment the Master Surgeon Himself can heal those wounds no matter how deep…

Looking For Love

God is love! And He knows only His love will satisfy you. Accept no substitutes when it comes to love. There are a lot of frauds out there!

No one has ever loved you more than God. And He knows you the best. Every day, challenge your inner man, moment by moment, to return to the One who loves you the most.

The psalmist captured the essence of soul therapy. “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” (Psalms 116:7, NIV) Have you seen how good God’s been to you? Most people don’t see it…because it takes eyes of faith. Are you committed to seeing God’s love today?

Happiness is a Decision

Everyone wants to be happy. But happiness is more about a state of mind than having things work out.

A man in his 90’s lost his wife of 60 years. Checking into a nursing home, an attendant described his new room to him. The old man replied, “I love it.” The attendant laughed and said, “But you haven’t even seen it yet.” Without missing a beat the old man shot back, “That doesn’t have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you decide ahead of time.”

What an extraordinary response! The Bible challenged us “…BE EXCEEDINGLY JOYFUL in ALL…TRIBULATION…” (2Corinthians 7:4)

I’ve found that happiness is NOT HAVING WHAT YOU WANT, it’s WANTING WHAT YOU HAVE. That’s why HAPPINESS IS AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE. It’s JUST A NEW perspective AWAY. Today, be grateful for what you have.

Things Getting Better

Would it surprise you if I said: the part of each of us THAT WISHES things would get better is NOT our friend.

Actually, it could be our ENEMY! I have NO IDEA what “BETTER” looks like, and God has NO INTENTION of fulfilling MY EXPECTATIONS. But, if I’ll let Him, He DOES INTEND to FULFILL HIS EXPECTATIONS through me.

The only way that can happen is: I MUST DECREASE, and HE MUST INCREASE. The WORST thing I can do is be IMPRESSED by what I think, or even what happens to me!

How we RESPOND to life is far more important than WHAT HAPPENS TO US. Oswald Sanders described it in a slightly different way, “Maturity is moving from a thin skin and a hard heart to a thick skin and a soft heart.”

Peace With Holiness

Are you at peace with your life? True peace only comes from one Person: God Himself…the Prince of Peace.

Scripture says, “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them…” (1Thessalonians 5:3, ESV)

In fact, PEACE, WITHOUT the HOLINESS of Christ, will lead to APPEASEMENT WITHOUT PRINCIPLE. The Bible tells us to, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) We won’t see God move, or understand His intent, unless we follow His road to peace through Jesus Christ. If we COMPROMISE on GENUINE HOLINESS, all we’ll get is counterfeit peace. TRUE PEACE will NEVER conflict with the truth of God’s Word, and ALWAYS brings us to a place of INNER REST and safety, NO MATTER WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND US.

Wishing Things Work Out

I don’t know what’s best for me—never have and never will. I don’t even know enough to have a STRONG PERSONAL PREFERENCE. So, spending my life WISHING things would work out is an ENORMOUS waste of my time.

The SMARTEST THING I can do… is to remain neutral: no bias, fully flexible, and yielding ONLY to the will of God. Have PASSIONATE FAITH, and let GOD’S WILL BE DONE IN YOUR LIFE, but DON’T BE ATTACHED to how HIS WILL PLAYS OUT.

I need the SAME AMOUNT OF FAITH to welcome the LIFE GOD GIVES ME, as I needed when I first embraced the God who saved me. We KNOW we’re trusting God when we STOP WISHING our lives would change. LOVE the life you have and joyfully receive everything placed before you. GOD HASN’T LOST TRACK OF YOU!

Heavy Winters Bring Bountiful Summers

One of the most knowledgeable men I know once told me, “Heavy winters bring more bountiful summers.” Hmm? The harder the winter–the more fruitful the summer!

We all appreciate Spring flowers and Summer fruit, but it’s the dying of Fall and the storms of Winter that create the most abundant harvests. Our inability to fully APPRECIATE the storms of life merely demonstrates how SHORTSIGHTED we really are. An over-dependence upon temporary satisfaction usually leads to FUTURE DISAPPOINTMENT. God has NO DESIRE to give you peace FROM the storms of life. His plan is to give you peace IN the storm. Peace that comes when the storm STOPS is temporary. Learning to have peace DURING the storms of life, that’s the goal.

So, the next time you encounter a storm, RESPOND WELL…a wonderful harvest is just around the bend.

The Value of Storms

Are you in the middle of a storm? Do you feel overwhelmed?

Meteorologists say that, on the ground, every storm feels the same coming in—whether it brings two inches of snow or two feet. So, we never really know which storm will bring the most CHALLENGE or the MOST BENEFIT to our lives.

EMBRACE your storms as they come; there are NO ACCIDENTAL STORMS. An ALL-KNOWING God, who always has OUR BEST INTEREST in mind, HANDCRAFTS EVERY ONE. We were created to MEET JESUS in the middle of our storms. Frankly, few of us have time for Him outside of them. It often takes HURRICANES and TORNADOES to GET OUR ATTENTION. We should bless God for the storms in our lives, because they help us to become FULLY conscious, and more INTIMATELY CONNECTED with our EVER-CARING CREATOR.

Accept God-Allowed Pain

When does our suffering produce a positive change in us?

We only change when our willingness to ACCEPT GOD-ALLOWED PAIN exceeds our fear of pain. At times in our lives, we will ALL SUFFER a SHARP PAINFUL DISILLUSIONMENT before we FULLY SURRENDER to reality. Even Jesus had to endure a PAINFUL CRUCIFIXION before He could say, “IT IS FINISHED!” (John 19:30) As we keep our eyes on the prize, we’ll eventually see that ALL of the PRESSURE and PAIN in life PALES IN COMPARISON to the GLORY that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

My prayer is that the Lord will HELP EACH OF US to see Him WORKING in every moment of our lives: That He will LEAD US TO TRUST that THE PLAN WE CANNOT SEE IS GREATER THAN the CIRCUMSTANCES WE CAN.

Pleasure In Your Pain

Are you overwhelmed? Can you even imagine finding PLEASURE IN YOUR PAIN? Paul the Apostle did! He ENDORSED THIS SEEMINGLY CRAZY way OF THINKING when he wrote; “I am EXCEEDINGLY JOYFUL in all our tribulation [our pressures, afflictions, burdens and troubles].” (2Corinthians 7:4)

Hmm? If the joy that Paul expresses is an example of how GOD RESPONDS TO LIFE, and if GOD IS TRULY LIVING IN US, then JOY SHOULD BE HOW WE RESPOND TO LIFE AS WELL.

Is it possible to be grieved and joyful simultaneously? Absolutely! You might be brokenhearted someone’s died yet joyful they’re in Heaven. You may be saddened your job’s ending, but joyfully confident God has something better. Here’s a GREAT RECIPE for living: ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU HIS JOY, in the middle of your pain.

Joy is a Choice

Want to ADD MORE JOY to your life? Sprinkle in…a LITTLE FAITH!

Faith is the MIRACULOUS INGREDIENT that activates TRUE JOY in each of our lives. Whereas HAPPINESS waits to see what’s going to happen, JOY blissfully opens its arms to every moment, CHOOSING IN ADVANCE to see life from God’s point of view.

Joy comes in the MORNING, before anything has happened to make us happy! We can opt to let FEAR or WORRY come in the morning, or perhaps even DEPRESSION and DISAPPOINTMENT. It’s ALWAYS our choice! If we so desire, we can invite DISCOURAGEMENT for breakfast, take HOPELESSNESS out to lunch, and join DESPAIR for a candlelight dinner.

Accepting Your Past

Are you struggling accepting some part of your past?

When we spend our lives DWELLING ON YESTERDAY, we shouldn’t be surprised if TOMORROW seems to never come. If we EMBRACE what IS happening in our lives, our feelings from the past won’t seem as important as they once were. Because TOMORROW’S promised to NONE OF US, I’m committed to EMBRACING my life today!

Frankly, FIRM EXPECTATIONS often lead to BITTER DISAPPOINTMENTS. At some point we must accept that ON MANY LEVELS God’s given each of us the life HE KNOWS WE NEED, not the one WE WISHED WE HAD. Embrace it! At the end of the day, RESISTING what God is doing in your life will ONLY bring confusion. ACCEPTING God’s will, and TRUSTING Him to LEAD you, will give you the PEACE OF MIND you’ve ALWAYS WANTED.

Shattered

Do you feel like your life has been shattered?

If so, there’s only one cure. It’s a three-letter word: JOY! You could describe joy as “a deep sense of INNER SATISFACTION that comes from SEEING OUR LIVES FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, and RESPONDING PROPERLY to the CHALLENGES and SUFFERING of life.”

The Bible says our lives can be “perfect, complete, and lack nothing” if we COUNT IT ALL JOY when we fall into various trials, knowing that the TESTING OF OUR FAITH PRODUCES PATIENCE. (James 1:2–4)

Things COMING UP ROSES WON’T make us perfect, complete, and lacking nothing; we must allow situations to, at times, COME UP THORNS. If we then RESPOND PROPERLY to life’s trials, it will produce the FAITH and PATIENCE that pleases God and ultimately—an eternal JOY.

Abundant Life

Are you LIVING the ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus promised? (John 10:10)

We as Christians are called to live VICTORIOUS, RESURRECTED lives, but how will we know this is taking place?

You know you’re walking in RESURRECTION LIFE when you’re MORE CONCERNED about HEAVEN’S IMPRESSION of you than EARTH’S. When you’re MORE INTERESTED in TRUSTING GOD than UNDERSTANDING WHY things are happening.

Dead men have NO preferences. They bask in TOTAL ACCEPTANCE and COMPLETE RESIGNATION. It IS God’s will for each of us to have NO PREFERENCE other than to obey and be at peace with what He provides.

If we DIE DAILY to our own desires, we will experience the ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus promised. For it is IN DYING we live. And it is IN LIVING A FULLY SURRENDERED LIFE we experience ALL God intended.